Police custody of madrasa teacher extended

ST Correspondent

Wednesday, 1 August 2018

A special court on Tuesday extended the police custody of Maulana Abdul Rahim Shaikh, who has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing children at an orphanage on Katraj-Kondhwa Road, till August 2.

Pune: A special court on Tuesday extended the police custody of Maulana Abdul Rahim Shaikh, who has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing children at an orphanage on Katraj-Kondhwa Road, till August 2.

The Bharati Vidyapeeth police station submitted to the court that statements of 12 out of 36 children have been recorded before the Child Welfare Committee. Also, the medical examination of the children is being done.

“The Maulana used to beat the children with a stick and pipe. The investigation has revealed that only 18 children were registered with the madrasa, while details of others are not found. The children were brought here from different states but there is no consent letter from their parents. There were 36 children at the madrasa but one five-year-old boy was immediately sent away. We cannot rule out the possibility that he was not abused by the accused,” the police remand report states.

According to the police, the orphanage where the incident took place is illegal and it is not registered. The incident came to light after two minor children had fled and they were found loitering at the Pune railway station by an NGO. Later, these children revealed that they had fled because of sexual abuse by Shaikh (21), a native of Bihar.

Based on a complaint from a child rights activist, an FIR was registered against Shaikh with Kondhwa police station and later it was transferred to Bharati Vidyapeeth police station on July 27 for further investigation, as the orphanage is located in their jurisdiction.

Police have charged the accused for offences under sections 323 (assault), 504 (intentional insult) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.